The Morning and the Evening
by Joan Williams
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Pub Date Dec 30 2014 | Archive Date Mar 30 2015
Description
Finalist for the National Book Award: Joan Williams’s unforgettable
first novel is the story of a small Southern town struggling to care for
one of its own
In a rundown farmhouse in Mississippi, Jake
Darby wakes up one morning to find his world forever changed. His
long-suffering mother has died overnight, abandoning forty-year-old
Jake, who is mute and, according to his neighbors, not quite right in
the head. With no family to take him in, it is up to the townspeople of
Marigold to take care of Jake, a grave responsibility that brings out
the best—and the worst—of a community in which painful truths are
usually hidden from sight. In such a place, even the kindest of acts can
lead to the most tragic of outcomes.
Heralded as the debut of a major new talent when it was first published in 1961, The Morning and the Evening won
the John P. Marquand First Novel Award from the Book-of-the-Month Club
and established Joan Williams as a leading voice in Southern literature.
Elegant, compassionate, and deeply unsettling, it is a portrait of the
human spirit in all of its flawed and intricate beauty, and a tale
firmly grounded in reality yet told with all the power of myth.
Advance Praise
“First novels as deft and disciplined as this are rare indeed. . . . The Morning and the Evening should delight thoughtful lovers of the best in fiction.” —TheNew York Times
“A
haunting and beautiful tale, richly infused with humor and sharp
insights into the human predicament. Not the least of Miss Williams’
talents is her perfectly focused rendering of the Southern
landscape. . . . A fine work.” —William Styron
“The Morning and the Evening places
Joan Williams with that distinguished group of writers which includes
Harper Lee, Elizabeth Spencer, Flannery O’Connor, Katherine Anne Porter,
Eudora Welty and Carson McCullers.” —Nashville Banner
“Remarkable.” —Time
“A gifted writer in superb control of her craft.” —The New York Times Book Review
“To
her simple materials, Joan Williams brings the art of the born
storyteller, subtlety of psychological insight, and a deep clarity of
feeling. She has, in fact, the last and greatest gift: to move the
heart.” —Robert Penn Warren
“Unique . . . honest, moving, compassionate.” —Chicago Sun-Times
“A very beautiful book.” —Harpers Magazine
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Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781497694637 |
| PRICE | $0.00 (USD) |
Average rating from 16 members
Featured Reviews
Librarian 224538
A surprising book in the great tradition of William Faulkner and Willa Cather, but also of Wallace Stegner and John Williams. This should definitely be included in any canon on US Regional Literature. Contrary to many contemporary novels it refreshingly lacks in a restless quest for action, blood and gore and but rests on the quiet, sad moments of a disabled man and his relations with the local community. After the death of his mother, Jake, a middle-aged, mentally disabled man is at the mercy of his neighbours who take it upon themselves to look after him. The best and worst of small-town community spirit is soon becoming evident and Jake's life is irrevocably changed. The language of the book seems like the smooth surface of a slow, southern bayou with only the occasional ripple spreading outwards the book stayed with the reader long after it finished.
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